I was riding in the passenger seat as my son was driving my 1990 Chev Cheyenne on Tuesday morning. It has the GM 6.2 litre diesel engine. It was a cold day (-22 C), but the truck started easily (block heater had been used). We were about 4 km out when I heard a new top end racket as he accelerated out of a curve. The check gauges light came on, and the oil pressure was reading zero. I had him pull over and shut down, hoping we were quick enough to avoid damage.
Yesterday, I got the preliminary report from the mechanic. The oil pump failed, so the engine was not being lubricated. It is not seized (the engine never got up to temperature on the trip), but there are a lot of ugly noises, even at idle. I trust this shop, and have for years. They figure a bottom-end rebuild is in order, but question the value of proceeding on an 18-year-old truck. The rebuild estimate is approximately what I paid for the truck a year and a half ago. Ironically, this occurred while I was on my way to a funeral. (I made it, but I was late. The tow truck driver dropped us off at the church on the way to the garage. We're on a first name basis. My son thinks that's funny.) I have been running B20 for the past year. I don't think that has anything to do with the oil pump going. Just posting this as a warning to others that this is something to watch out for in the GM engines of this vintage. The truck doesn't get a lot of use, as a rule, but I figure it paid for itself in the time I had it. It carried and pulled a lot in the times it was used. I have started looking for a replacement, but there isn't much to choose from in the low end of the market in terms of diesels. There are some large cube vans available at the top end of my price range (up to Cdn$4500), but they would present an issue in terms of parking. I need something that can pull up to 3500 pounds (Class 2), and carry "ugly" cargo (compost, scrap metal, used construction material). Pretty doesn't matter - in fact ugly has proven advantageous in terms or reducing requests to borrow the last vehicle. Robust and reliable does matter, as others drive the vehicle more often than I do. I'm thinking either pickup truck or full-size van. Any other thoughts? It took me more than a year to find a diesel the last time, and I don't have the luxury of that much time now. Suggestions? -- Darryl McMahon It's your planet. If you won't look after it, who will? _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
